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Transitions

An article by marthaschaefer

The light is noticeably fading. By 7:30, I snap on a light or two to chase the dusky shadows. It is lighter outside, but the evenings of dining on the back deck with the birds are declining. Transitions are all around me. Tomorrow, my sister Zanne will arrive. We lived together for 6 months when I began this blog and I have written of our annual visits. Our relationship is one of tenuous threads and the chains of DNA that no one else shares. This means once again this summer, Alice’s and my routine will shift to include someone else. From Julia’s extended stay as a fun roommate, then Hanni and B.’s month of crazy, lovely dogdom, and Doppelganger’s brief visit, I seem to go to extremes of social interaction to total self-imposed isolation. On the other end of this week, we will leave for five days of solitude and disconnect.

Transitions abound.

As the world heads back to school and routines, the faces at the store are changing. Regulars back from summer travels replace the tourists. We’ve added two new faces to the family and it is so rewarding to see fellow workers fall in love with the simplicity of really wanting to be at work. I will single one out because our paths crossed before, in the corporate world. Annie was always the first person to greet me as I schlepped my way into the building. Over the years we shared joys, triumphs and disappointments. I clearly remember dragging a suitcase through the lobby, exhaustion from days on the road a heavy cloak around my shoulders; being comforted and welcomed home by her.

Some folks pop up repeatedly in life and you just know they are going to “stick.” It’s the transitions that bring them back into focus. The trick, as I see it, is to recognize what else those transitions reveal…

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20 comments on “Transitions”

You are right about the transitions. We live in a summer tourist destination, and the faces are getting back to normal – and i almost need to turn on the light in the kitchen each morning now. Long jeans comfortably on for the first time in months…but as soon as the rain ends, it’ll be back to scorching.
Stretch out and relish this all now.

Unfortunately, we will soon be in the time of dark breakfasts and dark dinners. Trading tank tops for sweaters. Always in transition. Enjoy your visit with Zanne and relish and recharge in you 5 days of disconnect!

This is all so true. I am so happy to be part of your world again. I love my new job and all the people I am working with. Thank you for asking me to join the people there. This is such a refreshing change from the old life in corporate. We actually smile all the time. I have learned to transition a lot in the past few years and each time has been better that the time before. I hope now I am where I will stay for a long time. Thank you!

You bring me into your moments and back to my childhood, causing me to crave the change of seasons again. I live in Florida. All we have here is summer and a snowless winter. I especially loved your last paragraph regarding transitions. I need slow transitions . . . I am not fond of change, although transitions often take us out of our comfort zone and into magical places we would have missed if not for changes. Lovely post. Thank you!

Thank you Marie, friends who pop up in different chapters of our live are the ones worth keeping! So many people through the years I thought would be around forever and somehow we drifted too far apart for more than a quick social media “hello!”

There is always so much to enjoy within your journaling entries, Martha, as I’m heavily tugged toward your lifestyle–likely because it echos so much of my own.
I hope the journey toward darker days will be filled with snug warmth. This has always been one of my favorite transitions–moving into hobbit mode.